TTAC had its first bite at the 2014 Highlander recently. Be sure to bookmark TheTruthAboutCars.com for the written review in the coming days and a full-on drive review based on a week in Toyota’s new crossover in a few months.

I also think it was Mitsubishi. Now you see the gaping mouth look getting copied in some way or another by many Asian manufacturers and Audi. It’s even shown up on the Ford Fusion. Mitsubishi seems to be moving away from the look with the new Outlander and going with an “Atari video game” look. I actually prefer the Mitsubishi Evo version of the gaping mouth look as the best one.

Nissan started the black bumper gaping maw thing in 2001 with the concept Nissan GTR, the “gaping maw” was apparently inspired by old Transformers, then other car companies copied it with even the cheapest Fiestas sporting them now.

Alex – FYI on the chromed alloys, my mother’s 03 Liberty came with chrome plated plastic hubcaps over the alloys although they could be removed. The chrome never seemed to flake off after a couple of winters but they did crack along the edges. In about five years two of the four (both drivers side) either fell off or were stolen and she had me removed the two survivors for a uniform look.

Great video, you hold my attention on a model I’m not interested in & a segment I’d like to see banned.

Kudos to Toyota for rear passenger legroom (what a concept!) and the simple but innovative passenger intercom system. Now Toyota try and put quality rear legroom in a car and you’d have my attention. The new Avalon doesn’t appear as roomy as the old one, although this may be just my perception.

I have to say in the position of a family man (which I am not) I’m going with the minivan only because (1) minivan sliding doors are much more practical for passengers/cargo in both rows and (2) crossovers are heavy minivans that cost more, and are designed to look like SUVs because people like to delude themselves.

They also get better gas mileage, comparing Odyssey to Pilot:

2013 Odyssey V6 6spd auto
19/28/22

2013 Pilot V6 5spd auto
18/25/21

If you need a truck buy a truck, if you need a kid hauler suck it up and buy a minivan (or wagon or full size sedan if they existed). Why buy a minivan that looks like a truck for more money, get less mileage, and less functionality?

Ah I agree money is important, but if money is in the top three of your concerns in auto ownership why are you buying new in the first place? If minivans have poor resale than snaking a clean CPO’d one should be a better buy, right?

I say banned because in my country we have various agencies always trying to ban or control what the auto industry does, but they never ban anything worth banning. Case in point, these xenon headlights. While sure they look cool, they completely blind me in my non autodim rearview mirror at night. But that’s ok, blinding people isn’t a problem, its those damn V8s and carbon emissions that threaten drivers on the road.

Agreed with banning CUVs, though I’m less about all out banning them and moreso about stopping automotive globalization, I can’t believe how spineless so many car companies have become in the pursuit for cheap money. I guarantee that if 5-wheels became a thing or having 9 sets of LEDs, every single car company would jump on board be it Kia or Rolls Royce.

If carmakers want to save money they need to stop building so many variants, just look at how many cars are made from GolfJetta bits.

By building different variants from one platform you’re able to spread that cost out. That goes directly back to car economics 101. You’ll see people drive a Pilot, but wouldn’t buy a Odyssey as they have no use for it.

I’d say folks who love Pilot but wouldn’t love Odyssey (or have any use for it as you put it) are rubes since Pilot is a platform mate of Odyssey. There are plenty of arguments for an against a car purchase but the “I wouldn’t be seen in it” is the most hypocritical when the model you do like is a close cousin. Just more evidence of the PT Barnum’s famous thoughts on American consumers.

“While many SUVs at the time sat on truck platforms, the Pilot rode on a platform borrowed from the Acura MDX and the Honda Odyssey, as well as the Honda Accord. It featured a unibody design and a suspension tuned to provide responsive handling and a comfortable, car-like ride.”

I don’t care for the chrome strip on the grill. But, I will be picking up one of these within the next few weeks. It will be the base LE model with the V6.

I owned several of the last generation, including a nearly 2 year old one on my driveway. I like that vehicle a lot. Looks like I will be getting about 20K for trade in … paid 26K for it … it has 37K miles. Usually, I do a little better than that.

And, that was a great video. It appears a few have already shown up on dealer lots in the Boston area.

Hi Alex, thank you for another superb review. Re the headlamps (and in this case tail lamps) that protrude I find them hideous. I figured they were aerodynamically inspired as I could not believe any designer would add this look intentionally. Curious why the Europeans have not tried it if it is so helpful re air flow. In any case it bugs me enough to stay European with my cars.
I want to say that your reviews have set a new standard in automotive media, well above any I’ve seen before, and I’ve been a car nut for a long time and read more than a few. In fact I had left TTAC as I felt the reviews had become more clever than useful. Somehow Mr. Farago was able to combine the two most artfully but after his leaving not so much. The effort you put into researching and explaining the details of these vehicles is much appreciated and brought me back to TTAC. All the best. richard

Top broadcasting tip for next time: Either run the lav mic up your shirt and hide the cable around your waist or attatch it to your jacket lappel, to an RCA loop, and put the transmiter pack in your jacket inside pocket. That mic cable running down the front of your shirt looks aweful. I was in a hurry doesn’t count.

So do I believe the man in the video interacting with the interior in person, or the internet commenter who is squinting at a video but still inexplicably believes said opinion is worth posting? I’ll take my time on that one too.

I have driven them on open roads and in urban areas and found them to be on par with a Camry on which they are based.

They are not good high speed driving vehicles as they have the same tendency to ‘float’ around like the Camry does (around and above 160kph).

The V6’s in them are thirsty above 130kph as well. I would think you are lucky to get 18-20 litres per 100km (12mpg) out of them.

I hope Toyota have made these into decent touring vehicles. In Australia these are sold to middle class families who wish they could off road, but don’t know how and wives use them to take the kids to school in.

There are better vehicles out there for your money like a 2.2 TDi Kia Sorento. Much better buy and it’s much more economical (can tow very well) and can deliver around 6.5 litres per 100kph with 320ftlb of torque and 180hp.

As I’ve always stated Toyota build a reliable and ordinary vehicle and charge a premium for nothing special.